Bluetooth evaluation kit for embedded design, development

Microchip Technology Inc., a provider of microcontroller, analog and Flash-IP solutions, has announced the Microchip Bluetooth Evaluation Kit, which includes CandleDragon, Inc.’s dotstack demonstration Bluetooth Stack. The kit provides an easy, cost-effective and flexible add-on for embedded evaluation and development using many 16/32-bit microcontrollers or digital signal controllers (DSCs). To speed development and further reduce costs, the Microchip Bluetooth Kit works with the Company’s existing tools.

While Bluetooth wireless technology is a common short-range protocol for PCs and consumer electronics, it is rapidly gaining popularity among a broader set of embedded applications, according to Microchip. However, the current Bluetooth wireless technology modules are costly and inflexible because they force developers to use their predetermined baseband radio and microcontroller. Microchip and CandleDragon’s Bluetooth solution enables designers to pair a wide range of radio ICs for Bluetooth connectivity with many of Microchip’s 16/32-bit PIC microcontrollers or dsPIC DSCs. Additionally, CandleDragon’s dotstack Bluetooth stack is Bluetooth SIG compliant and supports multiple profiles in a single microcontroller—including SPP, HFP and HID—with more profiles planned for Microchip’s MCUs in the near future.

“Microchip makes it easy for our customers to cost-effectively evaluate and add Bluetooth wireless technology to their designs, with minimal development time and low risk,” said Mitch Obolsky, vice president of Microchip’s Advanced Microcontroller Architecture Division. “Our new Microchip Bluetooth Evaluation Kit, combined with CandleDragon’s Bluetooth Stack, goes one step further in enabling embedded Bluetooth connectivity.”